admin on April 14, 2009
According to the Wall Street Journal, Huawei is in the final running for a potentially bigger wireless-network contract with Clearwire Corp., citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter. Clearwire and Huawei declined to comment for the moment.
Huawei provides various WiMAX solution including Base Stations, Network Management System and Customer Premises Equipment (CPEs). Huawei’s total number of WiMAX contracts had reached 31 in September 2008, ranking Huawei in first place for global WiMAX 16e commercial network contracts.
The report said that Huawei is competing for the contract along with Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks and Samsung Electronics. Clearwire is in the process of selecting vendors to build its Wimax network that would cover 120 million people by 2010. Motorola infrastructure gearwas used in Portland, while Samsung equipment was used in Baltimore. The Clearwire contract would be the largest us deal of Huawei as it would include providing equipment that runs cell towers. Cracking into the US has been difficult for chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and rival ZTE Corp., because incumbents like Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola and Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson dominate the market. There are also major political and national-security concerns for Chinese manufacturers. Huawei and ZTE have had more success in developing regions that have never had land lines. Huawei also has become a major vendor in Europe, where it has won numerous contracts with players such as Vodafone and Orange. And Huawei has gained a foothold in Canada, where it is building third-generation networks for BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada and Telus Corp.
Clearwire raised $3.2 billion in 2008 for the rollout last year from a consortium of tech companies including Google Inc. and Intel Corp. to build the network based on WiMax Technology. Clearwire has said it will launch its Clear-branded mobile WiMAX service in at least eight markets in 2009.… Read the rest
admin on January 26, 2009
Nokia to pull the plug on N810 Wimax edition Internet Tablet.
Nokia has decided to stop production of the Wimax enabled Tablet less than a year after making it public. Although it did not specify the exact reason for stopping production it is fair to assume that the slower than expected spread of the Wimax network has a lot to do with it. According to company spokesperson Laurie Armstrong this move does not portray a lack of confidence in Wimax technology. In fact , she is suggesting that when Wimax does take off “refreshed products with even better performance will be required”. Nokia will continue to sell the none Wimax version of N810.
Early in 2008, Nokia released Wimax N810 Tablet at the same time as the deployment of Sprint’s first Xohm network in Baltimore, Md and officialy presented a demonstration at the CTIA 2008.… Read the rest
Ari Zoldan on January 14, 2009
Recessions hurt.
We’ve previously noted that decision-makers at many of the technology industry’s leading corporations seem to have a lot of faith in WiMAX, specifically in Clearwire’s United States venture. The catch is that the market does not share their optimism.
Intel’s losses after acquiring Clearwire now total $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion – significantly more than the previous estimate of $50 million. Meanwhile, Nokia is pulling the plug on WiMAX-enabled mobile devices designed specifically to work with Clearwire’s networks. At present, it’s a sensible strategy for Nokia, because mass sales of WiMAX products can not become a reality until Clearwire manages to roll out its offerings to a greater number of markets. But this could be a case of a double bind. Manufacturers like Nokia depend on the success of Clearwire before they can profit from WiMAX-equipped mobile devices, but Clearwire will have a harder time attracting customers in the absence of those devices. To borrow an old cliché, WiMAX technology seems to be taking one step forward and two steps back – at least for the time being.
But how likely is it that this currently sticky situation will kill off WiMAX development in the United States, as some have suggested? The survival of WiMAX depends, like all new ventures, on the future health of the economy, and it is difficult to predict how much longer it will take for the skies to clear. But ultimately, metropolitan WiMAX is still a good idea. There are even indications from Clearwire – at the moment, a mighty burden on the shoulders of Intel – that its offerings will eventually flourish. “Clear,” the company’s 4G WiMAX broadband service, will launch in Portland this year. Of course there will be no fancy Nokia tablets on the market to woo Oregonians with a variety of mobile options – though Intel Centrino 2 notebooks with embedded WiMAX will be out within the year – but residential users can still lease 4G modems from Motorola for a whopping $4.99 a month, or buy mobile USB modems at $49.99 each. Basic access to the 4G network then costs $20 to $30 a month. (Prices increase with greater usage.) That’s cheaper than most basic mobile plans by major cellular service providers, and comparable to the cost of residential high-speed Internet access. With analysts predicting that Clearwire will reach nine markets in total in 2009, … Read the rest
Ari Zoldan on April 2, 2008
In spite of the failed partnership with Clearwire and their current financial strain, Sprint expects to launch Xohm as planned. We could be experiencing a wireless broadband network from Sprint in several major cities, such as Chicago and Washington DC, as early as spring of this year.
According to the LA Times, Sprint’s Chief Executive Dan Hesse is convinced that WiMAX is the way to go even though Sprint’s bigger competitors Verizon and AT&T have disregarded WIMAX in favor of another 4G network known as LTE (Long Term Evolution). LTE is a project in the 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) and is an easier progression from our current wireless networks. While some are concerned that the industry’s two largest carriers are not backing WiMAX, Google, Comcast, and Time Warner are rumored to be jumping on the WiMAX bandwagon. Not to mention, WiMAX was the big buzz word at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, Nokia presented its most updated version of N180 Internet Tablet, a WiMAX device projected to run on Sprint’s Xohm network. Motorola displayed a WiMAX enabled car with music, video, and data mapping streaming wirelessly from temporary WiMAX towers placed in the city. All of the hype and optimism surrounding WiMAX is great news for Sprint but may be bad news for Sirius and XM satellite radio.
Sirius and XM have just received the long awaited approval from the Department of Justice for the Sirius XM merger that was first announced back in February of 2007. The merger would double their customer base making it much easier to cover fixed costs. Sirius and XM are also hoping that the merger will help ease the highly competitive environment so acquisition and marketing spending can be lowered. However, with the development of WiMAX, Sirius and XM will face competition from Internet radio which could be streamed wirelessly into cars or mobile phones. Sirius and XM have more than just the pending approval from the FCC to worry about. … Read the rest
Ari Zoldan on February 12, 2008
InformationWeek reports that Intel, Nokia and Nokia Siemens Network demonstrated an early version of a Wi-Fi/WiMAX network solution at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The technology is designed to allow mobile devices to seamlessly move from a Wi-Fi connection to a WiMAX connection with no disruption in internet access. It works by responding to several different triggers; for example, a weakening Wi-Fi signal. Before the Wi-Fi signal is entirely lost, one is able to simultaneously connect to a WiMAX signal, leaving any online work unaffected by the switchover.
The article goes on to state the value of such a development:
Such anywhere, anytime connectivity is pivotal to mainstream adoption of future Internet-enabled devices, capable of accessing multimedia and other services over the Web. Intel and other companies are investing billions in the technology needed to build and support such devices, which are the future of mobile computing, proponents say.
Technologies like this are pivotal in terms of dual access, especially in moving some out of the familiarity of Wi-Fi into the still-somewhat-unfamiliar realm of WiMAX connectivity. But perhaps most valuable is the seamless quality of what Intel and Nokia are developing and what that will mean for mobile access.… Read the rest
Ari Zoldan on January 7, 2008
In addition to the Montevina platform for notebooks, Intel may also be delivering WiMAX to ultraportables and mobile internet devices through its Menlow platform. InfoWorld reports that Intel is developing WiMAX chips specifically for mobile devices as an optional addition to the platform:
Intel is already developing a WiMax silicon chip codenamed Baxter Peak for mobile devices. Last year, Nokia said it would use Baxter Peak on its WiMax-enabled N-series Internet tablets, expected to ship in 2008... “[The chip] will be an option similar to how Echo Peak is an option for Centrino notebooks based on the Montevina mobile platform,” [according to Kari Aakre, an Intel spokeswoman]
With hopes of WiMAX taking off in 2009, Intel’s move toward including WiMAX chips in both notebooks and mobile devices is an excellent step toward boosting WiMAX adoption rates. Having a big name like Intel behind WiMAX and actively integrating supportive hardware will make providers that much more inclined to invest in WiMAX and customers that much more likely to subscribe to WiMAX services. Intel’s tactic also encourages a form of brand recognition in the sense that it gets the name “WiMAX” out to the public–thus building awareness about the technology and its capabilities.
Intel’s “Baxter Peak” and other WiMAX-enabled devices are scheduled for shipment early this year.… Read the rest
